The green color isn't that bad for me, but I like the font better from the other. It looks too skinny to me.

What can I say? I like big fonts and I can not lie....

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time...like tears in rain...Time to die." -Roy Batty

Like the bluish-gray here better than both the b/w and the dull greenish-gray above. I think with the background color coming in a little, you could just use the white text. The name jumps out a lot more in this one, for instance.

Oh dear. I need a signature.And an avatar.And probably other things I don't even know about.

gower21 wrote:I just LOVE the image, Alex. Did you photoshop/manipulate it yourself? Really liking the image.

Wish I was that talented. :-) I bought the image from Danielle Tunstall, who does some insane Photoshop work, mostly horror- and science fiction-inspired. Was an expensive license, but I couldn't resist. And from what Annie (Nobu) has said about her Tom Edwards novel covers, I got it for a pretty good price--$240.00 US.

I've got the tentative TOC drawn up, but it includes three or four stories that have yet to sell elsewhere, including my Q2 entry, so it could be a while before the collection goes live. If it appears that it will be quite a while, I may just publish it minus a few stories, and then add them in for future editions.

izanobu wrote:I would say wait and make it a full collection. The more stories you have in it, the higher you can price it, which means fewer copies need to be sold to earn back what you spent on the cover.

Okay, thanks for the input. I've got 11 or 12 stories that I'm hoping to include, which add up to more than 40,000 words, so per Dean's advice, I should be able to price it higher than, say, a 15,000-word collection. Guess that's what I'll shoot for, then.

Martin, I'd have to say the symbol really doesn't say "voodoo" to me, no. It's clearly not Seal of Solomon-esque or y'know, western-tradition Alchemist sort etc ... but to many (most?) it might just seem decorative rather than voodoo? (I say voodoo because that's the level of common mainstream non-familiarity I might try for myself? I know voodoo dolls and bloody chickens are tacky and lowest common-denominator, not suggesting that, but how familiar are most folks with that world?)

ETA if you had a bloody dagger there too, as if it's drawn in blood, might that suggest some ritualistic or magical element?

'The only tyrant we accept in this world is the still voice within.' -GandhiIOTF:Winner Q1 vol.27 (3x Finalist); WOTF: HM x2

Scott, that's exactly the problem. New Orleans style voodoo (what we're mostly familiar with) is distinctly different from Haitian Vodoun, which is an older tradition and closer to its African roots. So that symbol, a veve, is actually straight from Vodoun practice. To those in the know -- a small set, indeed -- it speaks of Vodoun. To the average person, it's just an odd design.

I tried adding a skull. It just looked cheesy. Maybe I can find a non-cheesy dagger.

Martin L. Shoemaker wrote:Scott, that's exactly the problem. New Orleans style voodoo (what we're mostly familiar with) is distinctly different from Haitian Vodoun, which is an older tradition and closer to its African roots. So that symbol, a veve, is actually straight from Vodoun practice. To those in the know -- a small set, indeed -- it speaks of Vodoun. To the average person, it's just an odd design.

I tried adding a skull. It just looked cheesy. Maybe I can find a non-cheesy dagger.

If you're certain it's accurate, I would leave it. Maybe you'll educate the populace. (For what it's worth, when I saw the symbol, and before I read the text and knew it was Vodoun, I immediately thought of a magic-type ritual. If I was shopping for ritualistic magic in the "real" world (cults, Voodoo, witches, monster hunters, etc), I would stop on that cover and read the blurb.)

Martin L. Shoemaker wrote:Scott, that's exactly the problem. New Orleans style voodoo (what we're mostly familiar with) is distinctly different from Haitian Vodoun, which is an older tradition and closer to its African roots. So that symbol, a veve, is actually straight from Vodoun practice. To those in the know -- a small set, indeed -- it speaks of Vodoun. To the average person, it's just an odd design.

I tried adding a skull. It just looked cheesy. Maybe I can find a non-cheesy dagger.

If you're certain it's accurate, I would leave it. Maybe you'll educate the populace. (For what it's worth, when I saw the symbol, and before I read the text and knew it was Vodoun, I immediately thought of a magic-type ritual. If I was shopping for ritualistic magic in the "real" world (cults, Voodoo, witches, monster hunters, etc), I would stop on that cover and read the blurb.)

I agree with Krystal. It looks like magical symbols to me. And the text says: spooky/creepy to me.

I used to do henna temporary tattoos on friends, and maybe that's prejudicing me, it just sort of hit me as a henna design more than a magical or ritual symbol? But I've already 'fessed up to knowing little about Vodoun. So maybe it's just me.

Well, too many people are seeing something off for it not to be off! So I'll tweak it ... maybe the rim of the spacesuit neck it too distinct of a cut off point (originally, the fire was supposed to be pouring up from OUT OF her suit, then I added the robot), I'll see if I can have the flames start lower and outside, as if the flames aren't HER burning, but a only splattering of fire off the robot?

And your idea of the flamelight needing to be seen on her skin too is spot-on!

There's a lesson here no doubt: We may begin with OUR idea of what's going on, but ultimately it has to be the VIEWERS who must understand/determine what's going on. (Same lesson no doubt for Illustrators AND Writers)

Thanks for the feedback so far!

'The only tyrant we accept in this world is the still voice within.' -GandhiIOTF:Winner Q1 vol.27 (3x Finalist); WOTF: HM x2

I agree, definitely A. The text is a lot crisper, which I feel lends itself to the artwork of the cover rather than drown it out. The thicker/brighter fonts in B draw too much attention away from the image.

I like the first one? Liked the drippy letters both because of the blood reference but also it fills the empty space better. Like the deeper yellow too (neon yellow strikes me as too obviously "pc font" where the deeper yellow has organic vibe appeal.

Have you considered giving the black silohuette some textural value/fx?

'The only tyrant we accept in this world is the still voice within.' -GandhiIOTF:Winner Q1 vol.27 (3x Finalist); WOTF: HM x2

I like the first one too. I like the drippy letters and to me the letters on the second one look Christmassy, not horror at all. Oh, and the Gator says she loves the drippy letters. But then she would.